Abstract
ABSTRACT: Maternal and fetal plasma ovine placental bctogen (oPL), insulin, and IGF-I levels were measured in response to the starvation aad refeeding of pregnant sheep on two defined planes of nutrition. Chronically catheterized pregnant ewes were placed on either a high plane (n = 5) or low plane (n − 5) of nutrition at least 1 wk before the experiment. At 125 to 135 d gestation, the ewes were starved for 72 h and then an i.v. infusion of 10% glucose was administered over 4 h, followed by refeeding at the designated nutritional plane. Plasma oPL levels of fetuses whose mothers had been on a high plane of nutrition were significantly higher during starvation (p < 0.05) than those of fetuses whose mothers had been on a low plane (high + 0.54 ± 0.17 and low −0.02 ± 0.17 nmol/L from mean control levels). Intravenous glucose infusion to the ewes at the end of starvation caused a marked rise in fetal plasma oPL levels in both groups (increments of 2.61 ± 1.4 nmol/ L in the high group and 2.81 ± 1.16 nmol/L in the low group). Maternal oPL levels did not differ significantly between the two nutritional groups during starvation and did not change during glucose infusion. Fetal and maternal plasma IGF-I levels both fell during starvation. Maternal IGF-I levels fell raster in the high group (−17.9 ± 4.5 at 24 h versus −4.7 ± 7.2 nmol/L in the low group), but the groups were not different at the end of starvation. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in maternal and fetal plasma insulin levels between the two groups during starvation. The fall hi maternal and fetal plasma insulin was greater hi the high group (fetal −0.13 ± 0.06 and maternal −0.25 ± 0.13 nmol/L) versus the tow group (fetal −0.01 ± 0.01 and maternal −0.02 ± 0.08 nmol/L). These observations demonstrate that preexisting maternal nutritional status affects oPL responses to acute starvation and that ePL may have a role m metabolite partitioning between mother and fetes.
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Oliver, M., Harding, J., Breier, B. et al. The Nutritional Regulation of Circulating Placental Lactogen in Fetal Sheep. Pediatr Res 31, 520–523 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199205000-00023
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199205000-00023